EL Excerpts (Caitlyn's Story)

“No, talk to me. The last time you couldn't
sleep was last March. Do you have to testify?”

Damn she's perceptive. And persistent. “Cait,” he sighed. “Are you sure you
want this now?”

“I love you, Bry, and whatever it is, you can
tell me.”

Bryan
swallowed hard, then felt her hand slide into his. He squeezed her fingers. “I don't
want to hurt you, ever, Caitlyn, but this is going to kill you.”

“What
is it?” She looked and sounded alarmed.

Bryan
pulled his hand from hers and raked his fingers through his hair. “You remember
me telling you about the girl I dated my first year?” Caty nodded. “Well, it
turns out she was at the same party I was the weekend after you left, and,” he
swallowed, “she’s pregnant, claims I'm the father.”

Caty went pale. “What? Bry... No! No! You can’t
be...can you? No!” She jumped up and went to the window. “Tell me there's no
way,” she pleaded, spinning around to face him.

“Cait, I woke up, she was there. I don't know
how or why, but...” Bryan
swung his legs over the edge of the couch and leaned forward, elbows on knees.

“Noooo,” Caty wailed, fisting her hands in her
hair. “It’s a mistake. It’s got to be a mistake.” Her voice fell to a whisper
as she sank into a chair. “Bryan...”
Tears coursed down her cheeks.

“I'm sorry. I am so sorry.” There were tears
in his eyes as well. He tried to kneel at her feet, to hold her hands, but she
pulled away.

“How could you? How could you let me make you
dinner and...and make love to me? God, do you know how that makes me feel right
now? You don't remember?” Caty got up and found the box of Kleenex. “How could
you?”

Her sudden anger caught him off guard. “I...I
don't know. I just don't know.” He returned to the couch. “If I could remember,
I would. But honestly, Cait, I don't remember her being there, I don't remember
screwing her, and I don't know how she even got in my bed.”

“Oh, God... in your bed? Our bed? I'm
going to be sick.” Caty sat down and put her head between her knees.

Bryan
felt helpless. I don’t know what to say. I
don’t want this to be any worse. After a while, Caty raised her tearstained
face. “You say she claims, do you
think she's lying?”

“Cait, she lied while she and I were going
out. I think she is. The baby's due next spring, and there's going to be a
paternity test to see if what she claims is true.”

“Is this going to interfere with your
probation?” she asked.

“No, getting girls pregnant isn't a crime.” He
tried to make a joke. “Just not remembering.”

Peter leaned forward. “Because the first time
we spoke, you struck me as beautiful, intelligent, smart, sexy, and you're very
fun to argue with. Short redheads aren't my style, nor are tall blondes whose
eyes fall out of their sockets when they see my car.”

“You noticed.” Caty laughed.

“There’s not a lot I don't. I'm very
observant, and if you were truly happily engaged, you wouldn't have said so
much to me last winter, nor been so adamant about not seeing me.” The waiter
brought the check, and Peter fished out his credit card. “Sometime during the
next few days, I'm going to unravel that mystery and find out what you're not
telling me.”

“That’s none of your business. I don't need to
tell you anything about Bryan
or whatever problems you're imagining.”

“Not
true.” He signed the receipt and separated his copy. “You implied there was a
huge problem, and I'd like to know what ties you to him. Shall we go?”

**********

“No, we didn’t have a fight. It’s
just, right before Halloween, things were back to normal for us, and this
afternoon, I called, and he was at the doctor’s office with Valerie, playing
concerned daddy. It just slapped me back to reality, that’s all.” She ran her
hands through her hair. “And watching Amy getting over Matt, and seeing
Gretchen so happy, oh, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe it’s just PMS.”

“Sounds more like you’re jealous.”

“Me? Jealous? That’s ridiculous.” Caty snapped
her head around to face him. “I’m happy Amy’s moving on with her life,
Gretchen’s got her life mapped out, and even Keri’s going out, although I’m not
sure she’s really looking for anyone. I just...I don’t know.”

Peter moved through the late-day traffic. “Do
you think you’re standing still? You keep saying that every one of your friends
is moving on. Sounds to me like you’re trying to hold onto the idea of you and
Bryan as this perfect couple.”

“We did get called ‘Barbie and Ken’ a lot. We
used to joke about our fairytale romance, and one year, dressed up as
Cinderella and Prince Charming.”

“But…” Peter prompted.

“But, I guess maybe you’re right. My life is
on hold. I used to believe I would graduate, get married, teach school until I
started having babies, and be happy the rest of my life.” Caty shook her head. “Now,
I know I’m going to graduate, but the rest is all up in the air. Amy’s going to
graduate sometime in the summer and do God knows what. Keri’s got so many job
offers, she doesn’t know which to choose, and Gretchen’s going into the Peace
Corps, if she gets accepted, then marry Troy
and live happily ever after.”

“And Stephanie?”

“She wants to teach P.E. somewhere. She wants
to stay in Evansville,
or at least in the area.”

“And where does that leave you?”

“In limbo until April.”

“Why does
your happiness depend on Bryan?”
He hit the wheel, causing Caitlyn to gasp. “I can’t understand it. You’re
young, beautiful, you’ve got what it takes to be a successful teacher, yet you
persist in clinging to this dream of marrying a guy who’s not even sure if he’s
about to bring a child into the world with someone he doesn’t even remember
sleeping with.” He sounded exasperated. “It’s 1988, Caitlyn. You’re not in
1958...you have the right to make your own happiness, not depend on any man.”**********“Caitlyn, why did you come here?”

“Because, I don’t want to lose our friendship.”
Caty sat back down. “I’ve come to value it. I know this sounds selfish, but I
enjoy spending time with you, and-”

“Hold it.” Peter held up a hand, shaking his
head. “Don’t use me as a substitute, Caitlyn. I’m not the kind of guy who will
listen to you gripe and complain about not being able to spend any time with
him and who listens to you sing his praises when you do. That won’t work with
me.”

“But-”

“No buts. I put up with some of your bullshit
last fall, but that was because you were confused and not sure what you were
going to do. Then you made a decision, but since Mommy and Daddy didn’t like
it, didn’t support your decision, you went running back to good ole Bryan, whom everyone
approved of, and you stopped rocking the boat. What’s going to happen, Caitlyn,
if you butt heads with a coworker, principal, some other administrator, even a
parent, who doesn’t like what you are teaching in your classroom? Are you going
to stick to your guns, or will you change your lesson plan? Are you going to be
the teacher who changes policy because one of your kids has a need that’s not
being met, or will you be one of those teachers who hide behind the school’s
policy? What do you see yourself doing?” Peter swallowed the rest of his coffee
after that speech and got up to pour another cup.

His words hit her hard. “I-I guess I never thought
about that. I hope I get a school system that stands behind me in starting up
the drug awareness program, but if they don’t, I guess part of me would wait
until the next year to try again.”

“What about talking with other people in the
community?” He sat down again. “Couldn’t you build support then approach the
school board again?”

“I guess so.”

“Come on, Caitlyn. Where’s your fire? Where’s
the go get ‘em attitude you had in October?” Peter bit into a slice of bacon. “Or
did your parents manage to destroy all your faith in yourself?”

Shaken, Caty stood and collected her coat. “They
didn’t destroy anything. I see this was a mistake.”

Peter
moved to stand beside her. “You’re doing it again. Nobody’s giving you the
answers you want, so you walk away. Look at me.” He cupped her face in his
hands. “I see a beautiful, strong, caring young woman who has a problem
breaking away from her parents.” He bent down and placed his forehead against
hers. “Or maybe the parents aren’t ready to let her go. Anyway, I believe in
you, Caitlyn. I believe you have the strength, the power, the will to do whatever
you want with your life.”

*********

(Hot Excerpt)

“Sweetheart, I’ve got to go get a
condom. I’ll be right back.”

“No,” she stopped him. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

“You sure?”

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “I want
to feel you this time.” She held the blankets out so he could join her.

“Oh, Caitlyn...” He rolled on top of her as
she spread her legs and reached down to help him find her entrance, closing her
eyes in anticipation.

Ahhhhhh. Oh my. A deep sense of satisfaction overtook her as he filled her. She arched
toward him and her eyes flew open when she felt an unfamiliar burst of
pleasure.

“What-ooh, Peter!” Caty grabbed his
shoulders and Peter’s movements remained steady, but she wanted more. Her hips
moved in time with his, and the pressure in her lower body built with every
thrust. She heard whimpering noises and squeezed her eyes shut, conscious only
of the almost unbearable rubbing pressure between her legs. “I can’t take much
more of this,” she gasped.

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About Me

I've been writing since age 11, and wrote my first romance novel at age 19. I finally had the guts to seek publication for my series in 2002, much to the delight of everyone who's read my work and demanded to know why I wasn't published yet!